Fillmore 50 1 x 12-inch 50-watt Tube Combo Amp Review

Can do almost everything very well.

I've owned probably a dozen amps over the last decade or so, and have held on to only three. I've owned and used this one for several months so have had time to run it quite a bit both at home and playing out, and also with many pedals and several guitars. What I really love is its dynamic response, versatility, quality of sound, relative simplicity, and that it handles pedals… read more and different guitars beautifully. With regard to pedals; they sound great but are mostly unnecessary. The amp has a fat base tone, so overdrives sound great, but are really just added spice to already great sounds. I find myself just using boost and modulation and maybe a fuzz, but thats it. If you play one, take the time to dial it in, and take notes. The tone stack isn't typical, and although its pretty simple in comparison to other Mesas I've had, the knobs, including the gain, are very interactive. Patience will pay off. There's a hundred amazing tones in there.

---

Cancel Comment

My Dream Amp

This amp was the first amp I ever bought where is said "this is all I'll ever need". My severe gear addiction proved that to be a lie but this amp is truly perfect. I have zero complaints and love it every time I play it. It's extremely portable and compact for being 50 watts and two channels. Fantastic pedal platform. Recently been really loving the mid drive voice with the gain… read more set really low but the cleans are better than anything I've tried from fender (and I've tried dozens). This amp will not disappoint. Makes every guitar and pedal I own sound better.

---

Cancel Comment

Mesa Fillmore 50 Combo

Another Happy Fillmore Owner here. I waited 2 months to write a review so I didn't jump the gun. I've pretty much used the combo since new on 4 ohms, stacked on top of a fender blackface style custom 112 cab with a Celestion V type speak and get a huge full sound.. The V type works perfect with it I run it on full power, as I like to burn in all the tubes equally and never… read more cared for power scaling when you have a master volume. Ive always liked Mesa amps, but this is only my 2nd new one, next to an Express 5:50 plus, which I ended up selling due to too many voicing options which just took away from playing for me. The biggest attraction on the Fillmore is it's simple 2 channel layout. It's by no means simple. Although I got awesome clean and higher gain out of it off the bat, the control over the tone is far out. This amp really starts shining turned up, but also is tv volume friendly. Band volume, unmiced, no problem with headroom here (clean and dirty). I'm still exploring the great tones out of it. The Clean and Drive have similar voicing characteristics (to me), and the Hi setting seems to have a mid-bump, to to effect I only have the mid around 8 or 9 o clock. (AT has his off on the Welcome Home vid). The drive is also pretty killer with gain cranked, But not limited to, the mild od and low gain is incredible, harmonic rich, and simply great. This amp rips and to me can do high gain with a Les Paul w Gain almost maxed out. The Gibson LP Standard 50s seems to be the main match, next to an older Fender USA double fat Strat w Duncan PUPS. A single coil Strat w/ Tex Mex sounds great too, but won't get as high of a gain output, but not bad at all. The bass control is well done, and fits in a loud mix up around noon when gain all the way up. Just too much to say on a review but it's definitely got me playing more. The loop sounds great with a delay and chorus. I've experimented with a boss eq which is crazy good sounding too (in the loop). The only amp I could possibly compare this to, is my old Fender Prosonic head w/ JJ tubes. Only, the mesa is just so much more flexible and has a decent verb (and more controllable at home volumes). That's it. If you are looking at it and you have the means, this is truly a professional amp with endless tonal capabilities. Read the manual!

---

Cancel Comment

Update

I already left a review but I just have to write another! I've had this incredible amp for two months now and with each passing day it even gets better and better! And I thought it was great to begin with. This is my #1 rig. A stock Fender Player Strat with graphtech saddles straight into the Filmore - NO PEDALS NEEDED!!!!!! This amp has it all. After all these years and amps… read more later the holy grail has arrived. Even with standard single coils, I can barely detect any 90 cycle hum. It's a quiet amp - no annoying buzz or hiss when not playing. On this inexpensive strat the amp makes it sound like a $5,000 Custom Shop strat albeit the Shaw pickups on the Player strats are insanely good. Two identical channels with clean, drive and more drive settings and tone pots that ACTUALLY WORK, let you dial in the sound of your dreams. The reverb is waaaay better than any tank reverb from any Fender amp I owned. Not sure what the actual Celestion Speaker is but the cab design and the 12" speaker are perfection. All my guitars sound great including my LP and Tele Deluxe With HB's and LP Special with P90's. No hype just the FACTS.

---

Cancel Comment

Best Combo Amp on the Market

Acknowledging that at $... this amp won't be for everyone, if I had to pick a single amp to play as a long-term workhorse jack-of-all-trades, this is the one. Not only does it cover a lot of ground, it excels in multiple areas. You can easily dial in Fender clean tones that are virtually indistinguishable from those put out through a Deluxe Reverb. The on board long-tank tube reverb… read more is one of the best I've heard. So basically you've got an amp capable of being a phenomenal Fender-like pedal platform, while also being a ridiculously good amp for high gain madness. The dual, mirrored channels are great. Super intuitive. I've found myself playing directly in to this thing more than any amp I've ever played. You really can't go wrong here.

---

Cancel Comment